A roll-up/retractable bannerstand generally uses some kind of pole or pin holding the printed graphics. To use this type of product outdoors, when windy conditions, creates rather large force on the graphics and the pole. This force increases to dramatic levels even when the wind speed is relatively moderate. The result is that either something breaks or the complete product trips over to the ground. Therefore it is not possible to use this type of product outdoors whenever there is a risk for windy conditions.
The patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,268 discloses a sign stand 10 (see FIG. 1) comprising a base 12, a resilient member 14, an upright member 16 and a sign 18. The resilient member 14 is shown in FIG. 4 to include a spring assembly 50, a pair of mounting brackets 52 and 54 and fasteners 56. Spring assembly 50 includes a coil spring 58 and a pair of spring plugs 60 and 62 are shown to include at least one helical thread-like protrusion 72, which permits the plugs 60 and 62 to hi threadably engage the interior section 80 of the coil spring 58.
The patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,719 discloses a sign stand assembly 10 (see e.g. FIGS. 1 and 2) comprising a message panel assembly 12, a mast 24, a mast coupler assembly 30, a clamp member 34, a resilient support assembly 50 and legs 64. Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the resilient support assembly 50 includes a coil spring 64, which is of a conventional helical wound wire design having cut ends 66. The resilient support assembly 50 includes one or more spring mount adapters generally indicated at 70.
The patent document U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,536 discloses a poster display device 10 (see FIG. 1) comprising a poster frame 14 which is mounted to a base structure 12 by a pair of extension coil springs 18 and 19, placed with a distance to each other corresponding substantially to the size of the poster frame 14. Referring to FIG. 4, the preferred manner of mounting the coil springs 18 and 19 to the base 12 and poster frame 14 of the display structure 10 is shown. The mounting bracket 20 comprises a metal plate 22 having three stepped levels 28, 30 and 32. As illustrated in FIG. 2, mounting bracket 20 is adapted to be disposed between a pair of adjacent coils 18a and 18b at one end of coil spring 18. A similar mounting bracket 24 is disposed between an adjacent pair of coils 18c and 18d at the opposite end of coil spring 18. In this manner, mounting brackets 20 and 24 are rigidly secured in coil spring 18 while deadening only a minimum number of coils. Thus, the majority of the coils in coil spring 18 remains active.
The patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,951 discloses a portable retroreflective sign system 10 (see e.g. FIGS. 1 and 2) including a retroreflective sign, which when in its rolled position, is housed in a box 14 with a hinged cover 16. Shown in FIG. 2, the box 14 is in an opened position. In addition, the box 14 has legs 22 which can swivel about points 24 outwardly to provide greater stability and support of the opened sign, together with the box 14, to prevent it from tipping over in windy conditions.
Although, the above listed documents in different ways addresses the problem of using different types of sign stands outdoors, when windy conditions, no one of the solutions given in these documents do present a solution suitable for implementing in a portable and compact roll-up/retractable bannerstand, i.e. the solution should be compact and light and in the same time having the function that it will work when windy conditions.